The Embarrassed Young Lady

Half an hour later, Lin Xuankong slowly opened his eyes from cultivation, feeling light and refreshed all over.

It was as though his former self had been carrying a burden of several hundred pounds every moment of every day, only for that burden to suddenly be lifted now.

The sensation of lightness made Lin Xuankong exceedingly comfortable. He rose from beside the bed, intending to stretch a little, but the instant his legs exerted the slightest force, his body shot nearly three feet into the air as though he had suddenly lost all weight.

Startled, he hurriedly adjusted his posture and landed steadily where he had been.

The strength in his legs had actually increased this much?

His face was filled with astonishment. After pondering briefly, he reached for one side of the wooden bed. The old solid-wood bed, together with its bedding, weighed more than two hundred pounds.

Yet with a single grab, he raised the wooden bed level with one hand.

It felt so easy!

Lin Xuankong wore an astonished expression.

After the three strands of Pine Crane Body Tempering Vitality merged and nourished his body for the first time, the results were actually this astonishing!

A few days ago, although his strength had already approached the limit of an ordinary person, it had been nowhere near what it was now. It would have been even more impossible for him to lift such a heavy solid-wood bed level with one hand.

Controlling the vitality within him, he steadily set down the bed, then focused on several large lines of text in his mind.

Lin Xuankong: Remaining lifespan 1168 days

Destiny: [Old and Vigorous]

Destiny First Talent: [Old and Cunning] Age 59, cultivation speed increased fiftyfold

Realm: Early Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One

Mortal Transformation Vitality: 168/100000

Technique: [Pine Crane Longevity Technique: Initial Glimpse 1/4000]

Immediately afterward,

The four golden-purple words [Old and Vigorous] flickered with light, and the text for the Pine Crane Technique changed: [Pine Crane Longevity Technique: Initial Glimpse 1/80].

Sensing these many changes, Lin Xuankong let out a comfortable breath.

His lifespan had gone from a mere three days to 1168 days. This Pine Crane Longevity Technique truly was marvelous beyond measure. It was no ordinary martial art—once the technique reached Entry Level, it really could extend one's lifespan by three years!

Compared to his former lifespan of only three days, 1168 days was more than three hundred times greater!

Moreover, another realm indicator had appeared within his Destiny: Early Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One.

While gaining lifespan, he had actually broken through and become a genuine Mortal Breakthrough Martial Cultivator as well.

Although he was still some distance from Zhang Wu, that Black Tiger Gang big shot at the late first layer, he was countless times stronger than Ma Xiong, who had followed him!

With two blessings arriving together, boundless hope rose in Lin Xuankong's heart.

How much lifespan could the next realm of the Pine Crane Longevity Technique increase?

At the very least, it ought to be five or eight years, right?

With the Destiny [Old and Vigorous], his chances of surviving in this world had increased considerably. Moreover, he had become a true Martial Cultivator, someone envied by all, so quickly. If he cultivated without pause every day from now on, just how far could he grow?

Amid his delight, Lin Xuankong walked to the window and looked into the back courtyard.

Spring rain had begun to fall outside. Amid the unceasing night rain, the scenery was somewhat blurred.

He could vaguely see that, a dozen or so steps from the window, a dying Old Willow Tree was quietly changing under the nourishment of the spring rain. Several tender green shoots had already emerged from its nearly withered trunk. Though those buds were frail, they brimmed with life!

A smile appeared at the corner of Lin Xuankong's lips. A few days ago, he had planned to chop down the Old Willow Tree for firewood. Now, it seemed he ought to give it a chance to live!

After taking a few breaths of fresh air by the window, Lin Xuankong returned to sit beside the bed. Excited as he was, he had no desire to sleep. He waited to see whether, after the Pine Crane Technique had reached Entry Level and his lifespan had greatly increased, those bouts of mental haze, chest tightness, and suffocation would still occur.

The fourth watch passed.

The fifth watch passed.

The night rain ceased.

The eastern sky gradually revealed the pale white of a fish belly.

As time passed, those bouts of mental haze and suffocation that had frequently appeared at night never came. Only then did Lin Xuankong finally set his mind completely at ease.

With a swift motion, he leaped from the bed and walked briskly into the outer room.

After washing his face, he headed upstairs with delight written all over his face, intending to tell Young Lady the good news that the Pine Crane Technique had reached Entry Level.

To his surprise, however, no response came from the wooden room on the second floor, no matter how many times he knocked.

Lin Xuankong pressed his ear against the wooden door and listened for a while, only to discover that there was no movement at all inside.

He pushed open the door and entered. The bedding on the second-floor wooden bed was folded neatly, and a faint fragrance drifted through the room, but Li Xiaolan was nowhere to be seen!

Lin Xuankong frowned. If Xiaolan had left to handle something, she would certainly have told him. Besides, at this hour, she could not possibly have gone to the pharmacy to fetch medicine!

After thinking it over, he ran to the rear window and looked outside. His expression immediately shifted.

The rain last night had fallen for three hours. In the small rear courtyard of the Wooden Building, a puddle one zhang across and half a chi deep had accumulated. At that moment, Li Xiaolan, dressed in green, stood atop its surface.

Astonishingly, she stood firm upon the water. The surface beneath her feet dipped slightly, yet she did not sink into it, and not a trace of water stained her embroidered shoes! In the morning light, pale mist formed from the water vapor and curled around her. The sight was like something out of an immortal realm!

Lin Xuankong was secretly shocked. Young Lady is clearly cultivating, but what layer is she actually at? While cultivating in such tranquil focus, she can tread upon water without sinking. How could an ordinary Martial Cultivator accomplish something like that!

And besides, such a peerlessly beautiful girl standing upon the water amid swirling white mist... she is simply breathtaking. If I shouted, would she be startled into falling into the water?

As all sorts of messy thoughts churned secretly in his mind, he went downstairs and entered the back courtyard, only to find that the beauty upon the water had already vanished.

Then Li Xiaolan's voice sounded behind him. "You broke through to Mortal Transformation Layer One!"

Why did she always like greeting people from behind? Lin Xuankong was speechless.

Soon, a smile appeared on his face again. He had entered the Early Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One in only thirty days. Now that Young Lady knew, she would surely be astonished!

Lin Xuankong turned around, his voice carrying some delight and a touch of smugness. "It is all thanks to Young Lady's excellent guidance!"

Hearing the delight and smugness in his voice, Li Xiaolan shot him a sidelong glance.

"With this cultivation speed, you are barely passable. You are nearly catching up to the speed at which I cultivated the Pine Crane Longevity Technique back then!"

Lin Xuankong's expression froze. Nearly catching up to Young Lady's cultivation speed? He had a fiftyfold cultivation speed bonus. Was Young Lady's talent actually this terrifying?

Seeing Lin Xuankong staring blankly at her, Li Xiaolan maintained an outward appearance of calm indifference.

Yet the fair little hand hidden within her long sleeve kept rubbing anxiously against itself.

Inside those beautiful embroidered shoes, her toes awkwardly curled against the soles as well.

So irritating!

This little old man Husband reached Mortal Transformation Layer One so quickly. Ordinary Martial Cultivators would probably need six or seven years to reach Mortal Transformation Layer One. Even I took six or seven months to enter the first layer back then!

So embarrassing!

Will he realize I am boasting?

Definitely not. I boasted so naturally—he should not be able to tell that I am boasting!

Her fair little hand rubbed awkwardly a few more times. She coughed, decisively changing the subject.

"Since the Pine Crane Technique has reached Entry Level and you have entered Mortal Transformation Layer One, relying solely on the mental cultivation method and breathing technique will definitely slow your cultivation progress.

"You need to begin cultivating the Green Pine Body Forging Stance, and you should also take medicines that nourish vitality and blood more effectively. Only then can you lay a solid foundation in the Early Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One!

"Also, it is time for you to cultivate the Spirit Crane Finger, which is meant for killing!"